Author: AFSI Staff

The Religious Zionism party, headed by Minister Bezalel Smotrich, unveiled on Tuesday a comprehensive plan for changes to the judicial system and for regulating relations between the Knesset, the government, and the judiciary.

The party announced that implementation of the plan will be a prerequisite for joining the coalition in the next Knesset term.

The plan is being spearheaded by Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee Chairman MK Simcha Rothman. According to the party, its goal is to maintain an independent and professional judicial system alongside a government and Knesset capable of exercising their powers, while establishing rules governing relations between the branches of government, increasing oversight and transparency, and protecting individual rights.

AFSI Insight
We are glad to see the judicial reform initiative being brought to the forefront again. Smotrich’s and Rothman’s judicial reform plan is an important step toward restoring democratic accountability, governmental authority, and the proper balance among Israel’s branches of government. AFSI supports efforts to ensure that elected officials—not unelected judges and bureaucrats—have the ability to govern and legislate within clearly defined constitutional boundaries. The proposed reforms are particularly significant as Israel prepares to appoint a large number of Supreme Court justices and other senior legal officials whose decisions could shape the country for decades.

Israel needs a judicial system that protects individual rights while respecting the authority of the elected government and Knesset. Restoring that balance is essential to strengthening Israeli democracy and Israel’s ability to defend its national interests.

Source:
Smotrich unveils plan for judicial system, by Hezki Baruch/Israel National News, September 15, 2026

A significant step for the settlement movement: The Civil Administration’s Enforcement Unit, which operates under Minister Bezalel Smotrich, removed dozens of threats to the new communities in Samaria and the Mount Hebron area on Wednesday morning, as part of a special operation carried out under the minister’s policy of fortifying and strengthening the settlement enterprise.

As part of the operation, illegal encroachments and plantings covering 20 dunams of state land near the community of Makeda, which was established in the Mount Hebron area, were removed, along with structures erected near the community of Shira in Samaria, which is expected to become a city following a Cabinet decision spearheaded by Smotrich.

The operation is part of a broader effort to restore Israeli governance and control on the ground, including declaring new communities, advancing their statutory planning procedures, establishing settlement groups on the ground, and enforcing the law against illegal construction – with the aim of enabling the communities to take root and develop.

AFSI Insight
This enforcement operation is an important step toward establishing a stronger Israeli presence and protecting new Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. Removing illegal structures and encroachments that threaten these communities demonstrates that enforcement matters—not only for law and order, but also for Israel’s ability to maintain control of strategically important areas. The operation near Shira and Makeda underscores the need to protect, develop and strengthen Israel’s communities rather than allow illegal construction to determine facts on the ground.

Source (removed from Arutz Sheva website as of 9/17/2026):
Enforcement operation around new communities, by Israel National News, September 16, 2026

The New York Times’ coverage of the Israel-Hamas war was grossly skewed toward the Palestinian side and against Israel, according to a peer-reviewed academic study. Israeli casualties were consistently omitted or minimized, while Palestinian suffering was amplified and given far greater prominence throughout.

The study’s author, Edieal Pinker, a professor at the Yale School of Management, published his findings in the academic journal Studies in Conflict & Terrorism after the paper cleared formal peer review. Pinker’s research quantitatively evaluated 1,559 New York Times articles published between October 7, 2023, and June 7, 2024, coding each one across dozens of specific categories to assess whether the coverage carried a consistent narrative imbalance.

The findings were stark. Ninety-one percent of the analyzed articles failed to mention any Israeli casualty that occurred after October 7. Of the full 1,559-article corpus, 1,412 articles omitted any mention of both Israeli post-October 7 casualties and Hamas combatant deaths together. Fifty percent of the articles did not reference the Israeli hostages Hamas was holding, and 41 percent omitted mentions of Israeli casualties from the October 7 attack itself, even as the hostages remained the central issue in every ceasefire negotiation of the war.

AFSI Insight
The growing body of research confirms what many Israel supporters have long recognized: major Western media outlets have consistently presented an incomplete and distorted picture of the Israel-Hamas war. Studies of The New York Times, BBC, and other major outlets document the disproportionate emphasis on Palestinian suffering while minimizing Israeli casualties, Hamas’s responsibility for initiating and sustaining the war, and the plight of the hostages.

AFSI believes this is more than a matter of editorial style—it shapes public opinion and policy. When Hamas’s terrorism and Israeli suffering are minimized while unverified Hamas casualty figures are repeatedly amplified, the public is denied the full truth about the conflict. Israel deserves coverage that acknowledges both sides of the story and holds Hamas accountable for the war it started.

The data matters—and so does telling the truth.

Source:
The pattern is in the data: New York Times, BBC studies confirm anti-Israel media bias, by Tamar Stein, September 14, 2026

https://israel365news.com/421197/the-pattern-is-in-the-data-new-york-times-bbc-studies-confirm-anti-israel-media-bias/

Israel accused Norway of “obsessive anti-Israel activism” after Oslo advanced legislation that could send individuals to prison for up to three years for prohibited trade and business activity involving Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.

Israel’s embassy in Norway condemned the proposal Monday, accusing Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide and the Norwegian government of sacrificing relations with Israel in pursuit of an increasingly hostile policy.

“Norway has repeatedly chosen to sacrifice its bilateral relationship with Israel in favour of one-sided rhetoric and hostile actions that serve domestic interests, undermine efforts to reach peaceful solutions, and are completely detached from the reality in the Middle East,” the embassy said.

The embassy accused Eide of engaging in “obsessive anti-Israel activism.”

AFSI Insight
This is a dangerous escalation in Europe’s growing campaign of economic warfare against Israel. AFSI condemns this discriminatory policy, which singles out Jewish communities in the historic heartland of Israel and seeks to isolate them economically and politically. What began as labeling and boycott efforts is now moving toward criminal penalties—and other Western governments are following the same path. This growing campaign cannot be dismissed as symbolic; it threatens to normalize the targeting of Israeli businesses and communities and must be firmly challenged.

AFSI calls out this dangerous precedent and demands that Israel and its allies push back before these measures expand further.

Source:
Norway Proposes 3 Years in Prison for Trade with Israeli Communities in Judea and Samaria, by The News Desk/The Jewish Edition, September 14, 2026

Israel’s defense establishment has begun operational discussions in recent days ahead of an expected new protest flotilla from Europe to the Gaza Strip, Channel 12 News reported.

Organizers of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition announced recently that they intend to launch another flotilla toward the Gaza Strip in October.

The planned voyage will first make stops in Spain, Portugal and Italy before proceeding toward Gaza. Organizers said the flotilla will seek to breach what they described as “the illegal and deadly blockade imposed by Israel on Gaza.”

Israeli intelligence officials currently assess that the initiative is relatively small in scale, involving just a few vessels and dozens of pro-Palestinian Arab activists.

However, the defense establishment is preparing for the possibility that the flotilla could grow in size as its departure date approaches.

AFSI Insight
AFSI condemns the latest Gaza flotilla as another deliberate attempt to challenge Israel’s security measures under the guise of humanitarian activism. Israel must not permit foreign activists to breach its maritime blockade or undermine efforts to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas. Israel is right to prepare for the flotilla and defend its security without apology.

Source:
New Gaza flotilla raises security concerns, by Israel National News, September 14, 2026

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he plans to speak with Israel, Britain, France and Canada to better understand their decision to impose sanctions targeting Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.

Asked by a reporter whether Washington opposes the sanctions, Trump stopped short of giving a direct answer. “I’ll be speaking to Israel, I’ll be speaking to them, and I’ll find out what’s their thinking. I understand exactly what’s going on but I want to find out why, all of a sudden, has that happened.”

Trump’s remarks came one day after British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced plans to prohibit trade in goods produced in Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria. France and Canada made the announcement jointly with Britain and said they would also “bring forward national measures to ban trade in settlement goods.”

AFSI Insight
AFSI views the sanctions imposed by the UK, France, and Canada on Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria as a dangerous escalation in the campaign to delegitimize Israel’s presence in its historic heartland. President Trump’s decision to consult with Israel and the sanctioning governments is significant, but what matters now is whether the United States will clearly reject these discriminatory measures rather than remain neutral.

AFSI believes economic sanctions targeting Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria set a troubling precedent: they single out Israelis based on where they live and effectively reward international pressure against Israel. Israel should not be expected to accept economic warfare against its citizens, and its allies should stand in solidarity with Israel.

Source:
Trump says he will speak with Israel and allies over Judea and Samaria sanctions, by Elad Benari/Israel National News, September 10, 2026

The roofing project at the Cave of the Patriarchs was completed and inaugurated Wednesday, following years of planning and procedures to advance the project.

The new roof over the compound’s inner courtyard, known as Jacob’s Courtyard, covers approximately 300 square meters and was completed ahead of Rosh Hashanah.

Work to advance the project began in the early 2000s, and in 2007 it was promoted alongside the elevator and access path project as part of efforts to make the entire Cave of the Patriarchs accessible.

AFSI Insight
AFSI welcomes the long-overdue completion of the roofing project at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. We thank Minister Smotrich for seeing this project through to its completion. This historic Jewish holy site should be accessible and welcoming to worshippers year-round, without political obstruction or unnecessary delays. The project is an important step in strengthening Jewish access to and presence at one of Judaism’s second most sacred site—and in preserving Israel’s historic connection to Hebron.

Source:
After years of delays: Cave of the Patriarchs gets a roof, by Hezki Baruch/Israel National News, September 9, 2026

The “so-called sanctions” that British foreign secretary Ed Miliband announced on Tuesday banning products from Judea and Samaria are “shameful” and “not helpful,” Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters at U.N. headquarters on Tuesday.

“We’re an independent country, a sovereign country,” Danon said at the press briefing in Turtle Bay. “If someone thinks that diplomacy is being played by applying sanctions or trying to bend our arm, we will take action as well.”

The envoy told reporters that he “met with the U.K. ambassador when she came in.”

“Don’t expect to dictate your ideas on us,” he told her. “You know, the British Mandate of Palestine is over.”

AFSI Insight
AFSI condemns the UK’s decision to ban products from Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria. It is a shameful and discriminatory act that unfairly targets Israel and undermines its sovereignty. Rather than promoting peace, such economic warfare punishes both Israelis and Palestinians who work together and only emboldens those seeking to delegitimize Israel’s presence in its historic homeland.

Source:
UK sanctions on Judea and Samaria ‘shameful,’ ‘not helpful,’ Danon says, by Rikki Zagelbaum/JNS, September 9, 2026

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced on Tuesday an import ban on goods from “illegal” settlements in the West Bank, as well as sanctions against specific individuals and businesses providing services such as construction, instruction, financing or real estate for “settlement” expansion.

Miliband fronted his Commons speech by saying he is “Proud of [his] Jewishness and unwavering in [his] support for the state of Israel,” and that there is “absolutely no contradiction between this and [his] support for the state of Palestine.” He stated, “What we seek today is to salvage the only cause for peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians: the two-state solution.”

Israel struck back hard against Britain on Tuesday in response to a fresh round of sanctions against Jews in Judea and Samaria announced earlier in the day by UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who is himself Jewish.

Acting with the agreement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced in response that has ordered four countermeasures against what he described as a broader pattern of hostile actions by the Labour government:

* Closure of the British Consulate in Jerusalem;

* Removal of British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat;

* Termination of British-run training for Palestinian Authority forces in Judea and Samaria under the “British Support Team in Ramallah”; and

* Denial of entry to Israel for 12 British elected officials and other British nationals tied to antisemitic or anti-Israel activity, including those who deny Israel’s very right to exist.

AFSI Insight
Milliband’s comments—the delusional call for a “two-state solution”—cannot go unanswered. AFSI condemns the UK, France, and Canada for targeting Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria with discriminatory trade bans, sanctions, and boycotts that reward Palestinian rejectionism and undermine Israel’s legitimate rights to its historic homeland. AFSI strongly supports Israel’s decision to respond with meaningful diplomatic consequences and urges Israel to make clear that foreign governments cannot attack its sovereignty without facing a firm response.

Sources:
Israel Retaliates, Closes British Consulate, Bars Officials Over Judea-Samaria Sanctions, by Hana Levi Julian/The Jewish Edition, September 8, 2026

12 countries announce boycott of goods from settlements, by Assaf Uni/Globes, September 8, 2026

UK, France, Canada announce ban on trade with Israeli settlements in West Bank, by Mathilda Heller/Jerusalem Post, September 8, 2026

The Regavim Movement has filed an administrative petition with the Jerusalem District Court demanding immediate enforcement action against two permanent illegal structures built on declared state land in Area C, adjacent to the newly established community of Bar Kochva in the Gush Etzion Regional Council. The petition was filed against Defense Minister Israel Katz, Minister in the Defense Ministry Bezalel Smotrich, the Commander of the IDF Central Command and the Deputy Head of the civil administration.

At the center of the petition is a glaring contradiction in Israeli government policy. In 2024, the government of Israel approved the establishment of Bar Kochva as a community of national, security and strategic importance. The community is intended to strengthen territorial continuity between Gush Etzion and Jerusalem and prevent Palestinian encroachment on strategically important ridgelines. Yet while the government advances the community on the planning level, enforcement authorities have failed to act against illegal Palestinian construction developing directly in its path. According to data presented by Regavim, the construction is part of a broader, systematic Palestinian Authority strategy of expanding development from Areas A and B into Area C, creating facts on the ground and restricting Israel’s future ability to develop and maintain control of strategically important territory.

AFSI Insight
AFSI condemns the Palestinian Authority’s systematic use of illegal construction to obstruct the growth and security of Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria. It is unacceptable that the government can designate Bar Kochva as a community of national and strategic importance while allowing illegal structures to block its access and development. Israel must enforce its own laws, demolish these structures, and prevent the PA from creating facts on the ground. This is a matter of sovereignty, security, and Israel’s future in Judea and Samaria.

Source:
Palestinian Authority construction blocks access to new Israeli community as government fails to act, by Staff Writer/Israel365News, September 8, 2026